This invention relates generally to magnification eyewear and, in particular to improved eyeglass frames particularly for physicians, surgeons and other medical professionals.
Many clinical procedures require a large declination angle, which is defined as the angle that a person""s eyes makes to the horizon when looking down. Accommodating a large declination angle in conjunction with through-the-lens surgical telescopes is often very limited due to the physical constraints of the eyeglasses. In particular, the typical pantascoptic angle, which is defined as the angle between the temple and the plane of the lenses, is generally at or near 90 degrees, which makes the mounting of through-the-lens loupes at a high declination angle problematic.
This situation is depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 depicts schematically a pair of eyeglasses at 100, wherein a pantascoptic angle xe2x80x9cpxe2x80x9d is defined between a temple portion 102 and the plane of the lenses 104 as shown. The eyeball is shown at 106, which lies on an optical axis 108. As is typical, the angle xe2x80x9cpxe2x80x9d is very close to 90 degrees, often on the order of 80 degrees or more.
As shown in FIG. 2, when surgical telescopes 204 are physically bonded through a lower section of the glass or plastic comprising the lenses, this near 90 degree pantascoptic angle creates significant problems, often resulting in physical instability. In particular, when surgical telescope 204 is mounted/cemented through the lower portion of the lens 206 at a relatively large declination angle little, or no area 208 remains between the mounting and the bottom of the lens. This results in a narrow band of lens material which is very fragile, such that if the slightest force is received on the upper portion of the telescope 204, breakage or dislodging of the assembly may occur.
This invention improves on the prior art by providing ergonomic eyeglass frames particularly suited to surgical, medical and dental applications. The invention includes a set of eyeglass frames having a temple portion and lenses arranged in a plane, whereby the angle between the temple portion and the lens plane defines a pantascoptic angle. A pair of surgical telescopes or loupes are mounted through a lower portion of one of the respective eyeglass frames, and the pantascoptic angle is preferably 80 degrees or less to provide a more stable physical mounting of the telescope or loupe through the lower portion of each lens element.